1976 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

1976 Penn State Nittany Lions football
1976 Penn State Nittany Lions football
Gator Bowl, L 9–20 vs. Notre Dame
Conference	Independent
Record	7–5
Head coach	Joe Paterno (11th season);
Offensive scheme	I formation
Defensive coordinator	Jim O'Hora (11th season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Beaver Stadium
	Seasons ← 1975 1977 →

1976 NCAA Division I independents football records
v t e	Conf.			Overall
Team	W	L	T	W		L		T
No. 1 Pittsburgh		–		12	–	0	–	0
No. 17 Rutgers		–		11	–	0	–	0
San Diego State		–		10	–	1	–	0
No. 12 Notre Dame		–		9	–	3	–	0
Colgate		–		8	–	2	–	0
Boston College		–		8	–	3	–	0
Cincinnati		–		8	–	3	–	0
Memphis State		–		7	–	4	–	0
North Texas State *		–		7	–	4	–	0
Southern Illinois		–		7	–	4	–	0
Penn State		–		7	–	5	–	0
Villanova		–		6	–	4	–	1
South Carolina		–		6	–	5	–	0
Virginia Tech		–		6	–	5	–	0
Army		–		5	–	6	–	0
Florida State		–		5	–	6	–	0
Illinois State		–		5	–	6	–	0
Richmond		–		5	–	6	–	0
West Virginia		–		5	–	6	–	0
Georgia Tech		–		4	–	6	–	1
Temple		–		4	–	6	–	0
Air Force		–		4	–	7	–	0
Dayton		–		4	–	7	–	0
Louisville		–		4	–	7	–	0
Marshall		–		4	–	7	–	0
Navy		–		4	–	7	–	0
Indiana State		–		3	–	7	–	0
Hawaii		–		3	–	8	–	0
Holy Cross		–		3	–	8	–	0
Miami (FL)		–		3	–	8	–	0
Syracuse		–		3	–	8	–	0
Utah State		–		3	–	8	–	0
Northeast Louisiana		–		2	–	9	–	0
Southern Miss		–		2	–	9	–	0
Tulane		–		2	–	9	–	0

North Texas State (originally 6–5) was awarded a forfeit win after Mississippi State was found to be using an ineligible player.^[1] Rankings from AP Poll

The 1976 Penn State Nittany Lions football team represented Pennsylvania State University as an independent during the 1976 NCAA Division I football season. Led by 11th-year head coach Joe Paterno, the Nittany Lions compiled a record of 7–5 with a loss to Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl. Penn State played home games at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 11	Stanford	No. 10	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 15–12	61,645
September 18	No. 2 Ohio State	No. 7	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)	ABC	L 7–12	62,503
September 25	Iowa	No. 11	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		L 6–7	61,268
October 2	at Kentucky	No. 20	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY		L 6–22	57,723	^[2]
October 9	Army		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 38–16	60,436
October 16	Syracuse		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)		W 27–3	61,474
October 23	at West Virginia		Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (rivalry)		W 33–0	37,762	^[3]
October 30	at Temple		Veterans Stadium Philadelphia, PA		W 31–30	42,005
November 6	NC State		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		W 41–20	60,426	^[4]
November 13	at Miami (FL)		Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL		W 21–7	19,627
November 26	at No. 1 Pittsburgh	No. 16	Three Rivers Stadium Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)	ABC	L 7–24	50,360
December 27	vs. No. 15 Notre Dame	No. 20	Gator Bowl Stadium Jacksonville, FL (Gator Bowl) (rivalry)	ABC	L 9–20	67,827
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

1976 Penn State Nittany Lions football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
OT	`71`	Brad Benson	Sr
WR	`44`	Jimmy Cefalo	Jr
OT	`68`	Eric Cummingham	So
OT	`71`	Keith Dorney	So
WR	`46`	Scott Fitzkee	So
QB	`14`	Chuck Fusina	So
OT	`68`	George Reihner	Sr
TE	`82`	Mickey Shuler	Jr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
LB	`53`	Kurt Allerman	Sr
DB	`25`	Tom Bradley	So
DE	`64`	Ron Crosby	Sr
LB	`95`	Tom DePaso	Jr
DE	`28`	Rich Milot	So
DT	`78`	Randy Sidler	Jr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class

Four Nittany Lions were drafted in the 1977 NFL draft.

Round	Pick	Overall	Name	Position	Team
2nd	10	38	George Reihner	Offensive guard	Houston Oilers
3rd	22	78	Kurt Allerman	Linebacker	St. Louis Cardinals
5th	2	114	Ron Crosby	Linebacker	Detroit Lions
8th	24	219	Brad Benson	Offensive tackle	New England Patriots